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January 22, 2026
A dialog with Graham Granger, whose mixture of protest and efficiency artwork unfold past campus. “AI chews up and spits out art made by other people.”
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Left: Graham Granger after his arraignment outdoors the courtroom constructing. Right: The artwork exhibit, made with the assist of AI, by Nick Dwyer.
(Simeon Ramierz; Colin Warren)
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As the use of synthetic intelligence in artwork is hotly debated, one scholar at the University of Alaska, Fairbanks took issues into his personal mouth. On January 13, Graham Granger, a movie and performing arts main, was arrested for felony mischief when he ripped the artwork, made with the assist of AI, from the wall of a college gallery and ate it “in a reported protest,” based on the police report.
Additional reporting was contributed by Lizzy Hahn.
“He was tearing them up and just shoving them in as fast as he could,” mentioned Ali Martinez, a witness to the occasion. “Like when you see people in a hot-dog eating contest.” According to the police estimate, round 57 of the 160 pictures on the wall had been destroyed.
In the exhibit, artist Nick Dwyer expressed his battle with “AI psychosis,” throughout which he says he fell in love with a chatbot that was appearing as his therapist. A collection of Polaroid photos depicts the chatbot, himself, and different variations of them mixed. He mentioned the bot represented his “Jungian shadow,” which is the repressed, typically destructive, but inventive a part of one’s character.
“It would have been an awesome performance piece that literally encapsulates the problems with AI art and artists,” mentioned Dwyer. But he didn’t settle for Granger’s protest as an excuse to destroy his work. Dwyer claims Granger’s act was akin to slashing somebody’s tires to protest the oil trade. He initially needed to press costs as a result of Granger’s act “violates the sanctity of the gallery,” however modified his thoughts, dropping the costs. The state remains to be continuing with the case.
Dwyer thinks there needs to be room for new expertise in the artwork house. “AI is a lens and it’s viewing humanity. Some people will see it as stealing from artists. The other way to see it is that it’s an extension of humanity,” he mentioned. “AI art might be a tax on the artists. Tax is nonconsensual; some people say tax is theft. That’s something we’re going to have to wrestle with.”
When pressed about the proven fact that Dwyer was nonetheless utilizing AI to create artwork, even after it led him to psychosis, he smiled. “I’m trying to wean myself off.”
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Below is a dialog with Granger, who has since been launched from the Fairbanks Correctional Facility. The dialog has been edited for size and readability.
—Colin Warren
Colin Warren: How did your arraignment go this morning at courtroom?
GG: Fine. I’m hoping since I’m a first-time offender, it gained’t be severe jail time. I’m anticipating to pay a advantageous.
CW: How did you give you this concept, and what led you to the gallery that day?
GG: I walked down with my good friend to his class actually early, so I used to be caught outdoors for like an hour. I used to be simply wandering round the advantageous arts constructing ready for my class to begin. I ultimately went into the gallery and I took a glance and I used to be very impressed by virtually all the items in there.
CW: So your act wasn’t premeditated?
GG: No, I didn’t learn about the exhibit earlier than that day. And then I noticed the AI piece and it was simply—as an artist myself, it was insulting to see one thing of such little effort alongside all these lovely items in the gallery. It shouldn’t be acceptable for this “art,” if you’ll, to be put alongside these actual nice items. It’s artwork that has zero substance. Not zero substance; I imply it’s a really private work, proper? It’s artwork that takes away from its personal substance by not being made by the artist himself.
CW: Do you take into account what you probably did protest, efficiency artwork, each, or one thing else?
GG: Both. It’s a protest in opposition to the college’s AI coverage particularly and it’s efficiency artwork as a result of I wanted one thing that might elicit a response. So this might attain extra folks.
CW: Was it an try to go viral?
GG: No, no, by no means. I needed to convey this to the consideration of the college as an entire. I actually hadn’t anticipated this to go previous the school campus.
CW: Did you see the story in lots of media shops?
GG: I did, yeah. There’s an Italian artwork journal. I used to be contacted by a Russian newspaper. I’ve pals who I haven’t talked to in years that every one began messaging me.
CW: Do you employ AI for something?
GG: I don’t actually use it interval. I miss the Wikipedia blurbs being at the prime of webpages. If I’m trying up a simple arithmetic proven fact that I don’t know—like what the weight of one thing is—I’ll have a look at the AI abstract, however I by no means, virtually by no means, hit the increase button.
CW: What are your private ideas on AI, particularly in artwork?
GG: I believe synthetic intelligence is a really worthwhile instrument. I believe that it has no place in the arts. It takes away plenty of the human effort that makes artwork. If artwork can’t be improved upon by criticism, it’s exhausting to name it artwork. And there may be an argument to be made that you could criticize your AI artwork by altering the prompts and producing extra pictures to select from, however that work doesn’t evaluate to the criticisms that an actual piece of artwork would obtain for those who critique it.
CW: So your important downside with it’s that it doesn’t course of criticism?
GG: It’s not the solely downside. There’s an entire host of issues. It is dependent upon your definition of artwork. I say AI isn’t artwork. I do know lots of people who would agree with me. I don’t suppose there’s any excellent argument that may be made for this, as a result of it doesn’t matter what you say anyone will give you a counterpoint as a result of at its core artwork is subjective.
However, the course of by which artwork is made is oftentimes extra essential than the completed product, and if the course of of constructing your artwork is simply typing a immediate in, it simply takes away from the accomplishments of different gifted artists. And it actually hurts the observe of artwork by commercializing that completed product.
CW: Do you’ve any qualms about the proven fact that AI artwork is made by scraping different artists?
GG: Yeah, I imply, that’s a part of why I spat it out, as a result of AI chews up and spits out artwork made by different folks.
CW: So throughout your demonstration, you didn’t swallow any of the exhibit?
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GG: I swallowed a few of it. I had actually been spitting it out close to the finish. I didn’t wish to make an excessive amount of of a large number, however I additionally didn’t wish to must spit it out in the again of a police automobile.
CW: What had been your ideas the day after the incident?
GG: I used to be scared for courtroom. I used to be stunned I didn’t spend the complete night time in jail. I anticipated to be there for a day or two. I used to be there for in all probability six hours.
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CW: Do you’ve any regrets now that you’ve a felony document?
GG: No. This is one thing I really feel very strongly about, and I believe that it was one thing that needed to be completed. I’m not going to say I’m glad I used to be the one to do it, as a result of I don’t prefer to make myself the focal point on this method, however I don’t remorse having a felony document.
CW: Have you ever been in an consuming contest?
GG: Yeah, a protracted very long time in the past. I did a mashed-potato consuming contest at a renaissance truthful again in Georgia.
Colin Warren
Colin Warren is 2025 Puffin scholar writing fellow specializing in local weather and rural points for The Nation. He is a senior local weather scholar at University of Alaska at University of Alaska, Fairbanks, serving as editor in chief of the college newspaper, The Sun Star. His work additionally seems in The Nome Nugget, Copper River Record, and The McCarthy Canards, amongst others.
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